“Tim Tebow only got that position with Jacksonville Jaguars because of white privilege and Colin Kapeenick didn’t get a chance because he was black.” That’s been the words echoing through the sports world the last week. Tim Tebow played his last snap December 30th 2012. He signed an official contract with the Jaguars and has been on camera in practice.
Is this hire about race? Is Tim Tebow getting this spot because he is white or because there is another factor?.
First off we need to look at a concept called, “Confirmation Bias.”
What is Confirmation Bias?
It’s the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values. People display this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information, or when they interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing attitudes. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs.
The charged movement in the last year is “Black Lives Matter.” Which they do. Black lives do matter. The charge of that energy causes us to look at that component first especially with the media wanting more coverage and ratings.
Tim Tebow doesn’t need to apologize for being white. Even if it is true, someone shouldn’t turn down an opportunity that is important to them. No one should shame themselves for an opportunity that’s important to them and turn it away because of what media coverage is being highlighted at the time. Plus that’s inspiring for someone to go play baseball and come back after 8 years.
For PR and brand purposes it always serves that person to give gratitude for the opportunity. But not for being white. That would be re-confirming that he got the opportunity because he is white.
Why did he get the position with Jaguars when he never really played Tight End and has been out of the league for 8 years?
- Relationships Is The New Currency
The biggest reason why Tim Tebow got this opportunity is because he had a great prior relationship with Urban Meyer, who has been getting a lot of heat from the Jaguars organization and media. They won 2 championships in Florida 2006 and 2008. Tim Tebow’s leadership was a huge reason for that as he led the team with his outspoken christian messages to the world with his famous eye paint on his eye that read John 3:16. Which says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
During that game 94 million googled John 3:16. As a leader and coach the best thing you want for a team is someone who embodies your message and rallies the people around you. Relationships work best when they share the same culture.
- Culture Wins Championships
We have seen over and over talented NFL players not get more opportunities with teams because of their impact on the culture. You’ve watched Antonio Brown get released from 3 teams within a year because they didn’t contribute to the team. As soon as Colin Kapernick didn’t contribute in a positive way to the team, his kneeling on the field launched a huge movement of all teams kneeling during the national anthem. He wore pig socks portraying cops as pigs to practice. I loved Colin Kapernick when he started for the 49ers rooting for him as he took the team to the Super Bowl. Through watching and following him on social media I slowly fell away as a fan because of his egotistical and outlandish comments. Which in my opinion didn’t build team unity. Colin Kapernick was well qualified to get another chance in the NFL but no team was willing to give a backup a chance at the risk of causing more disruption to their team culture. The risk-reward metric was not worth it. The players are there to win. Not focus on their political views. This is why some players lose fan popularity. They aren’t accounting for their customers. The average fan in the NFL is white between the ages of 25-45 who make under a 100k per year. Colin Kapernick’s comments probably didn’t sit well with the average fan. As any business owner you must look at your customer. Your customer pays for your lifestyle and each person’s brand affects the culture and the customers.
- Brand Identity Is Everything
The biggest reason Tim Tebow got another opportunity is because he is inspiring. Every brand has either a positive or negative charge to it. It’s either in love or hate. Tim Tebow’s message and brand represents love and Colin Kapernicks represents hate. It has nothing to do with what the message is. It has everything to do with how it’s presented. If you look at the brands that grow the most and spread the best they are based more on inspiration instead of motivation. Inspiration is PULL and Motivation is PUSH. Martin Luther King Jr. and Colin Kapernick believed similar things however Martin Luther King’s Jr. movement was more inspirational and brought through love instead of hate. Having a good intention doesn’t mean you will have a good influence. There needs to be a greater UNDERSTANDING on how to IMPLEMENT the INFLUENCE. I call this the 4-Levels of Building An Influential Brand.
The 4 Levels of Building An Influential Brand
- Specific Inspirational Intention – LOVE
- Deeper Understanding – MINDSET
- Ability To Implement – SKILLSET
- Positive Influence – IMPACT
I am rooting for Tim Tebow this next season. I hope he sees the field. But regardless if he does or not he will impact and influence the Jaguars organization and bring them to the next level.
PS
If you want to learn the other core components to building a brand and scaling your influence and income click the link below for a FREE training valued at $249 that goes in depth on, “How Branding Scales Your Influence & Brand”
CoachTravisBrady.com/Webinar